When new Ravens running back Willis McGahee takes his first handoff at training camp tomorrow, he'll pound home a point that's easy for defenses to forget.
Too often, tacklers assume they'll easily bring down McGahee. But McGahee quickly reminds them with each bruising collision that he weighs 232 pounds.
"I think half of the weight is in his head," linebacker Bart Scott said jokingly.
It has been only 4 1/2 months since the Ravens acquired McGahee in a trade from the Buffalo Bills, but the players are already familiar with their brash new teammate.
Unlike his predecessor Jamal Lewis, McGahee steps into the backfield with a swagger, an Ali-like confidence that has rarely existed on the Ravens offense.
It was only three months after he severely injured his knee in the 2003 national championship game that McGahee boldly said he would recover and lead the NFL in rushing.
During his three-year pro career, McGahee has consistently called himself the best running back in the NFL, although he has failed to prove it statistically.
And when asked a few years ago if he modeled his style after that of any other running back, McGahee said, "I'm one of a kind, baby."
It has become apparent that the addition of quarterback Steve McNair delivered a calming presence to the offense last year, and that the arrival of McGahee has brought a strut this season.
"There's a certain attitude that you have to have on the offensive side of the football," linebacker Ray Lewis said. "The same attitude we have on defense, he has on offense."
The Ravens say they hope McGahee can make the same impact that McNair has made.
In McNair's first season with the Ravens, the passing attack jumped from No. 22 to No. 11. Now, McGahee has the chance to revitalize a running game that fell to a franchise-worst 25th in the NFL.
The Ravens have shown their faith in him, giving McGahee a seven-year contract that could be worth as much as $40.12 million, which would place him among the NFL's five highest-paid running backs.
With a new contract, a proven cast of players surrounding him and a potential playoff run ahead, McGahee might finally have the platform to back up his confident words.
"Perfect scenario, perfect situation, perfect team. It doesn't get any better than this," McGahee said. "When I got here, at first I was little nervous. But it's all love right now."
The same could not be said of his departure from Buffalo, where his big talk and disappointing numbers caused a major rift with the team and the city.
After McGahee's trade to the Ravens, a columnist for The Buffalo News described McGahee's attitude as "defiant individualism."
Bills quarterback J.P. Losman surmised that the move was made by the front office because "they just felt that, you know, maybe he wasn't correlating with other teammates or personnel."
The Ravens, though, have immediately embraced McGahee in the locker room.
"He understands where he is now. He's home," Lewis said. "If you're around him when he smiles, you understand how he really feels comfortable being around us."
'A fresh start'
New city. New uniform color. Even a new number.
Since McGahee was traded to the Ravens in March, he has shown no interest in buying his old uniform No. 21 from cornerback Chris McAlister and instead has worn No. 23.
"I don't want 21," said McGahee, who selected No. 23 because he was the 23rd overall pick in the 2003 draft. "I'm looking for a fresh start."
In his three seasons with the Bills, McGahee averaged 1,122 yards per season and 3.9 yards a carry. Last season, he rushed for a career-low 990 yards, which ranked 24th in the NFL.
Those are the same kinds of unexciting numbers put up by Jerome Bettis and Ricky Williams in their first seasons before they got fresh starts elsewhere.
After averaging 1,030 yards in three seasons with the St. Louis Rams, Bettis rushed for 1,431 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Likewise, Williams averaged 1,043 yards in his first three seasons with the New Orleans Saints before breaking out for 1,853 yards and 16 touchdowns with the Miami Dolphins.
The Ravens say they envision McGahee following a similar path.
"When you're talking about a back that overcame injury and had two different styles of offense in a relative short period of time on a team that clearly was transitioning, I think he may be coming into a situation that better suits him," Ravens coach Brian Billick said.
Comfort level
While the national media have debated whether the acquisition of McGahee was the right move, no one can question his toughness.
Many are amazed that McGahee can even play in the NFL after suffering a devastating knee injury in college. During the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State's Will Allen put his forearm right into McGahee's knee, causing it to bend backward and tearing three ligaments.
After sitting out his rookie season with the Bills, McGahee went on to produce two 1,000-yard seasons.
"Honestly, I really wasn't comfortable until last year, running the ball and not worrying about my leg," McGahee said. "When I came back, I always had a little hitch, a little limp. I couldn't make certain cuts. Now I can do this and that, get away. It's in the past, it's behind me."
Then, last December, McGahee rushed for 125 yards against the New York Jets despite injuries to his ribs and ankle in addition to stomach problems.
After scoring a touchdown in the first quarter, he ran over to the bench and threw up. He sat out the second quarter before returning in the second half, where he jawed with the Jets after every run.
"It didn't seem like he was hurt out there," Jets safety Kerry Rhodes said after the game. "He was running as hard as he always does."
As the Ravens have found out, appearances can be deceiving with McGahee.
"He doesn't look that big or that strong, like a bruiser," Ravens defensive tackle Trevor Pryce said. "But some guys are just compact, like they should be defensive linemen, but all of it just shrunk down. He's kind of bowling-ballish."
Me and U
In Buffalo, McGahee's attitude was thought to be all about "me."
In Baltimore, it's just about the "U" - as in the University of Miami.
McGahee played his college football at the South Florida school, which is known for producing dynamic athletes and big egos.
The Ravens, who have thrived with Miami alumni Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, don't have a problem with McGahee's collegiate background.
"One thing that you always respect about guys from [the University of] Miami is they do carry themselves with that confidence and arrogance, but they're very conscious about living up to that responsibility," Billick said.
McGahee says he has avoided projecting that image with the Ravens, although his teammates would contend otherwise.
"I'm not going to do that, because my teammates might think, 'Oh, he's cocky.' We've got to keep it down," McGahee said. "But that's how we did it at the U. You had to have that confidence. You can't be an ordinary player, you can't take a back seat to anybody, no matter who it is."
This is still the same player who thinks he is the best running back in the NFL, right?
"Talk is cheap," McGahee said. "You know what? I don't want it given to me. I want to take it."
jamison.hensley@baltsun.com